Noel, a 6-10 shot-blocker and the top-ranked recruit in the Class of ’12, already had been cleared academically. The NCAA held him up while investigating “an amateurism issue.” The organization has completed the inquiry and cleared Noel to participate as a freshman.

UK coach John Calipari broke the news on ESPN in the morning – saying, "He's cleared to practice and cleared to play in games. ... Everything is good to go." -- but school officials soon thereafter requested caution because they had not received official clearance by the NCAA. That came Wednesday afternoon.

Noel is a raw offensive player, but some analyst say he is the best shot-blocker of a generation. Yes, even better than his UK predecessor, Anthony Davis. Both are dominant but in different ways. Davis had the mobility and the basketball sense to disrupt shots from the rim to the 3-point arc. Noel is more of a Patrick Ewing-like lane dominator.

The NCAA still has not ruled on the eligibility of UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad and Kyle Anderson, who both, like Noel, are top-five recruits in the freshman class.